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Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Muslim Ban and Effective Activism

Over
the weekend we were witness to thousands of people across the United States
going to airports and protesting the detainment and removal of arrivals from
the seven countries targeted by the Trump administration. When I looked at the
scenes unfold I was moved. But more importantly, the protests may have been the
most effective demonstrations I have witnessed in many years.

I
am a cynic and a pessimist when it comes to most aspects of popular protest. I
think coming to political awareness in the 1990s and 2000s showed me time and
time again that people in the street are more often symbolic than effective.
Look at protests that occurred at key moments or at important events and time
and time again they failed to change anything at all: the globalization
protests at the G7/G8/G20 meetings, the anti-Iraq War protests, the Occupy
Movement. Despite mass public, international demonstrations no meaningful
change was won. Instead of a demonstration of public power I think these
demonstrations ultimately allow the mainstream media, those in power and
critics to illustrate the opposition/left's weakness and toothlessness.

The
principle weakness in these broad, mass demonstrations is that they have no
detailed goals and often apply pressure to the wrong people. The airport
protests had specific aims, have those detained released and allow them entry
into the country. The audience wasn't the White House, who will never reverse
their position, but the staff of the border agencies, other levels of
government, lawyers and the justice system and most importantly the media. The
attention the protests received by the media made the protests and the border
changes feel like a crisis. It applied pressure on judges to issue immediate
orders and caused reaction in foreign capitals. I sincerely doubt that the
Canadian government would have moved so quickly and issue temporary residency permits to travelers stranded by the Muslim Ban.

If
Donald Trump and his ilk are going to be defeated it will be through actions
like this. He's going to lose in the courts, in the international arena, and
(hopefully) in the legislative bodies and other levels of government. Mass
demonstrations can only drive media attention, pressure other officials and
provide them cover. Trumpist policies must be attacked in specific and with
detailed alternatives. In all due respect to the women demonstrations around
the world, they sadly did not move the needle, as far as I can tell. The
opposition will not defeat Trump the man, they must defeat his ideas, one by
one.